Review

A Messenger is a very emo-sounding album, which can be attributed to the Christian Rock genre and Colton’s advocacy of the Jonas Brothers school of singing (which I really enjoyed when he was on American Idol last season). When I hear “Christian”, I am more familiar with praise music from Don Moen and the like, so I didn’t know how to place Colton’s music at first. But the melodies that Colton and his team (Zac Maloy, Dave Bassett, Scotty Wilbanks, etc.) have come up with here are very pleasing — and I actually see some potential adult contemporary crossover. “This Is Who I Am” and “I’ll Be The Light” for example could fit perfectly in David Cook’s last album This Loud Morning which was targeted at the AC market. The tracks that really shine are: “Never Gone,” “You Are” and the final track “Let Them See You” (my favorite).

A Messenger is a solid effort that Colton’s fans and fans of Christian music will enjoy. A #1 album in the Christian charts next week for sure. Looks like American Idol has produced another star!